Tag, You're It
by ice shredder
Summary: I was the glue that held everything together. The heart of the group. The unofficial leader everyone turned to when Rick fell apart. I was hope incarnate. That there could be a future, something to live for. That in the darkest of nights flames of hope burned bright. And Negan snuffed mine out. MAJOR SPOILERS FOR 6x16! Enjoy!


**Title: Tag, You're It**

 **Fandom: TWD**

 **Author: ice shredder**

 **Disclaimer: this show-along with all the insanely twisted, broken human characters therein-are the property of AMC and Robert Kirkman.**

 **Warnings/spoilers: HEAVY ONES for 6x16. I might be one of the few people NOT hating on the cliffhanger. The person dying wasn't the main focus. It was solely on the introduction of Negan. Bottom line. And yes, I truly believe Gimple and Kirkman will be faithful to the comics this time around and Glenn will get Lucilled. Sorry guys. The clues were there with the episode opening in 1st person POV and it ended with the victim looking UP at Negan not down through his POV during 'Eenie Meenie.' And Glenn was shown ONCE in profile-just what he looked like moments before his death. Whoever died was in the back center of that van and the only person who fit that was our favorite pizza delivery boy. Don't hate alright? This is my pick and I'll feel cheated if they give the most iconic death in the comics to someone like Abe, Michonne, Daryl, Aaron, or Eugene. Negan killed Glenn and most of the fandom was too busy flailing their arms and wanting their cake RIGHT NOW to see it.**

 **Fun fact: Negan comes from a Finnish genitive singular form of the noun '** _ **nega'**_ **which ironically enough translates to the photography colloquialism for** _ **negative.**_ **Also means to deny something to someone.**

 **Enjoy and don't forget to review! :)**

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"Eenie, meenie, miny, moe..."

I shiver as Negan's dark, gruff voice slowly sang the choosing rhyme boots crunching the gravel as he paced before us on our knees.

Like a damn chopping block. Memories of being lined up, bound and gagged by the Termites as one of them prepared to bash my head in...

 _"You're either the butcher or the cattle."_

But Carol showed up just in the nick of time to save us.

Except she wasn't here to swoop in like last time. We were well and truly on our own.

 _Damn_ it. The _one time_ we need her special brand of rescue magic she up and _disappears-_

I wince as Lucille's barbed-wire tip passed dangerously close to my family's faces. _One of us is really going to die in a few seconds, ohmigod...please. Please God, if you're up there please protect Maggie and our child._ I haven't given religion much thought since the world ended but faced with death, I find myself desperately praying to a higher power most of us didn't believe in.

It's scary out here. Everything's too still. Ever since Dwight captured us back in the forest earlier that afternoon after shooting Daryl _point-blank_ in his crossbow arm-super dick move by the way-a chill worked its way into my soul.

 _Please._ I beg, tears pooling in my eyes. _Spare her._

"Catch a tiger, by his toe. If he hollers...let him go."

Lucille bobbed in front of my friend's faces, the metal tip implacable as her owner. I trembled as Negan took his time with the choosing game, voice low and disturbingly soothing. Almost like he was singing a lullaby instead of getting ready to bash someone's skull into pieces.

Fear. I could taste it. Smell it. It was cloying. I haven't felt it this bad in a long, long time. Not since the Governor. Or the time Nicholas committed suicide and was eaten, buying me time to crawl under that dumpster. Maybe charging Negan was a mistake but I couldn't let him hurt Maggie. But things like that only get you killed. Negan wouldn't see my actions any less than insubordination instead of the instinctive urge to protect my wife.

Now someone's gonna die because of what I did.

I'm sorry guys.

"My mother."

I'm sorry.

"Told me."

Forgive me.

"To pick."

Please forgive me.

"The very best one."

The closer he came to the end, I saw my family break down. Sasha was in tears. So was Eugene and Rosita. Daryl was pale and sweaty but resigned. Even Abe, Carl and Michonne's brave faces started to crack.

"And you."

Lucille made her macabre round, creeping closer and closer-

Wait.

He's coming towards me-

No.

Please no.

"Are."

Negan pointed his bat several more times in front of everyone's terrified faces, the pause longer this time. Then he walked to his right past a trembling, tearful Rick and before I could blink Lucille's deadly tip landed in my face.

"It."

Oh God.

It's happening.

This is _really going to happen-_

"Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father. And then we'll start."

No. Don't you dare touch Carl you evil bastard.

But I couldn't speak around my parched throat. And besides it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

"You can breathe. You can blink. You can cry." Negan's deep voice grew darker and his eyes gleamed with a manic light as he readied himself to swing. Just get it over with already why dont'cha? I hate prolonged villian speeches. "Hell, yer all gonna be doing that."

Then he swung down hard. The force jolted my head downward and I felt my eyeball pop out of my head and my ears rang with the blow.

I struggled to find the face of my beloved wife. But all I managed to get out was a choked, "Mag-Maggie!"

Negan whooped along with the rest of the Saviors as he mocked the last word I would ever speak.

"Whoa! Lookit that! He's taking it like a champ!"

His strikes grew harder and harder until a final shattering crack put an end to my misery and my vision went black forever.

Finally it's over. I couldn't stand looking into those cold, ruthless eyes a second longer-  
...

When I came to, I found myself lying in the middle of a field. The sky was blue and cloudless and the sun was shining but that didn't make sense. My skull was destroyed beyond recognition. I shouldn't be able to see anything-

Yet here I was, in the middle of freaking nowheresville with my head intact and all pains gone and...okay so nothing's attacked me so far. Which is super weird. Like, I was flat on my back for crying out loud. A perfect walker happy meal.

But I didn't hear anything.

So I pushed to my feet scanning my surroundings just in case. You can't be too careful and this quiet's starting to creep me out so I think I'll get my ninja on and figure out where exactly here is.

Birds chirped as I made my way through the field. A treeline ran parallel to my left and I had a feeling I've been here before. All too soon I found a dirt path and started walking it without hesitation. Roads mean civilization. Houses. People. So this thing's gotta go somewhere. Right? Hopefully the living will be less hostile here than the ones we encountered so far.

"Hello?" Man, I'm really taking a huge risk aren't I? Shouting out loud in the open like this. Bad stuff happens when you don't keep your voice down. "Is anyone here?"

The only response I got was the wind sighing through the trees and birdsong, but hey it's better than a bunch of geeks gang attacking you, that's for sure.

I kept walking. And walking. Until what seemed forever a large structure came into view. To my surprise, I could see it perfectly without straining.

It was big. And white.

No way.

I quickened my pace, not realizing I was full on sprinting.

It was the Greene Family Farm.  
...

I slowed down as I approached the gate. The building was just as homely as I last remembered it. And the barn wasn't a dilapidated mess.

I must be dreaming.

Only one way to find out.

I pushed at the gate and it swung open without any resistance. Of course it would. Herschel was a trusting old soul and everyone who lived around him was considered family-

"Hello? Anybody home?"

I heard something stir inside the big house and my hands instinctively reached for the gun I no longer carried. Then a man's voice spoke out of the stillness.

"Sounds like another weary pilgrim's found their way home."

"I'll go welcome them Daddy. Be back in a jif."

The front door creaked open while I was just halfway down the path. A young woman with blond hair and big blue eyes stepped out onto the porch and I instantly knew her.

"Glenn? What're you doin' here?"

I smiled at her slightly stunned question.

"Hey Beth. Mind telling me where I'm at?"

She hurried down to meet me just as Herschel's voice called out from the inside of the farmhouse.

"Who's there Bethy?"

I patted my sister-in-law's back as she hugged me tightly.

"Come on in Glenn. Everyone's waiting."

I raised my eyebrows at that.

"Everyone? You mean-?"

Beth pulled back, a watery smile on her sweet lips.

"Yeah. Yer dead Glenn. But you don't hafta worry no more. Walkers and bad folks can't touch us here."

"Bethy?" Herschel sounded more demanding as he called his daughter's name. "Who's out there?"

"It's okay, Daddy! It's just Glenn!" That's when people started pouring out of the front door and onto the big wooden porch to see for themselves.

They're all there. Shane. T-Dog. Lori. Andrea. Otis. Amy. Jacqui. Tyreese. Dale. Sophia. Merle. Dr. Jenner. Deanna. Jessie and her boys. Jim. Axel. Patricia. Mika Samuels. Aiden. The prison inmates. So many. Too many to count. All the good ones.

Gone.

But-

They're all here.

Lori flew down the steps. Next thing I knew she was hugging me tight, starting a chain reaction.

"Oh Glenn, I'm so sorry!" She was sobbing into my shirt. "Shane and the guys saw what that horrible man did to you! They wanted to kill him but they couldn't do anything..."

She pulled back a smidge and Jacqui managed to wrap her arms around my shoulders. Sweet, gentle soul who refused to live in a kill or be killed world.

"Honey, ya didn't deserve to go out like that. No one does. I can't imagine the pain you went through, but it's over now."

By now I was at the base of the stairs being greeted by back slaps and handshakes by the guys.

"Welcome home, brotha. Sorry we couldn't do nuthin ta save ya."

I clapped Shane on the chest-his eyes clear and free of the insanity that clouded his final days, hair grown back-and shook my head. I won't let him beat himself up over this. Nothing they coulda done anyway.

"Not your fault man...wait."

I slammed on the brakes- _right in front of the freaking stairs for God sakes_ -eyes darting wildly.

Maggie.

Rick.

Carl.

Michonne.

Daryl.

Everyone.

My friends were still back there... _and I'd left them on a horrific, traumatizing note-_

I tore myself out of the women's grasp quite easily startling the crap outta them. Oops, my bad. Forgot I'm no longer confined to a restrictive meatsuit-and tore down the path. Ignoring my family's surprised shouts and Beth's super piercing yell trailing after my rapidly retreating back.

 _"Glenn Rhee you come back here this instant-!"_

Sorry Beth. But I gotta do this. Make sure Rick doesn't do anything stupid. Make sure Maggie's gonna be okay.

I've got a really _bad_ feeling about this-  
...

In no time I found myself streaking through the woods back in the living world, instinct propelling me back towards that lonely hilltop road where I met my horrific demise.

But it was deserted.

The only signs that people had been here were tire tracks and the rather large pool of blood where Negan made mashed braintatoes out of my skull. Other than that...nothing.

 _Where could they have gone?_ _Think Glenn._

Hilltop.

Of course!

Maggie had looked deathly sick when I last saw her.

So they must've been on their way to the doctor when the Saviors cut them off.

Without wasting another second I rushed the last half mile till a familiar wooden wall loomed into view. Forget knocking. Nothing's gonna stop me from checking on Mags.

So I jumped over the top of the wall.

Yes.

You heard that right.

I'm no longer bound by natural laws or a mortal frame. So yes, I can do things that weren't possible when I was still alive. Crazy I know. But they can't see me.

So who's gonna stop me?

I ran through the main house's closed front door searching every room. The Hilltoppers I encounter move about their business with a somber, subdued feel. Sadness permeated the whole house and I was almost tempted to turn around and go back. Breathe in the clean, untainted atmosphere of the afterlife. I forgot how rotten and musty the air smells back in this dying world.

But I gotta see my family squared away first.

After another couple of minutes I finally headed in the direction of the makeshift infirmary. The first sound I heard when entering the room was someone sniffling. A female to be exact.

Rosita sat with her knees drawn up to her chin with her arms wrapped around them. Rocking. Crying softly under her breath. Eugene was right next to her, shoulder pressed against hers, face wet and eyes glazed with grief. Carl sat next to Michonne in the room's only two chairs.

Silent.

Angry.

 _Vengeful._

Abraham leaned against the infirmary's wall clutching a shell-shocked Sasha tightly to his chest. His eyes were dull yet I caught a glimpse of a cold fury simmering in those blue depths. Doesn't surprise me one bit. He was the only one besides Michonne and Carl who stood up on their knees.

And that worries me. Negan might not have killed them now...but further down the road, more of the group's gonna fall. Whether the geeks get 'em or the living it doesn't matter. We all die in the end.

Rick looks horrible. No pun intended but he appeared to age ten more years in the span of a single night. And is that...blood on his mouth? Did someone punch him?

"Rick?"

A black gentleman emerged from the curtain dividing the ambulatory from the injured. He was tired. Weary. Not much better than the others.

Sad.

Dread clamped down on my chest.

No. Please tell me my wife and baby are gonna be okay. And Daryl. He needs to be fine. He just has to be. My family's gonna need him somthin' real fierce when this storm hits Alexandria.

I watched my brother in arms raise his head, feeling the urge to cry at his lost, forlorn look. I wanted to wrap my arms around him. Take the pain away. Assure him this wasn't his fault but he won't see it. Neither will Daryl. I know he's gonna blame himself the most for my death but it can't be helped. We underestimated our enemies. All of us.

And we paid in blood.

"Dr. Carson? How's she...?"

Rick was hoarse. Probably from exhaustion and grief. He couldn't finish his sentence. The doctor seemed to understand and delivered the news.

"She'll be all right. It was touch and go but the worst has passed. Good job ya got her here when ya did. She woulda died if you waited any longer. We're still monitoring the baby, but it should be fine."

Rick almost broke down right there. He licked his lips and asked the question haunting everyone's mind in that small waiting room. "And Daryl?"

The doc's face grew inscrutable. "Sleeping. It's a miracle he didn't bleed out. His wound's stitched and cleaned but he absolutely cannot move around for at least a week. No excuses. I can tell he's a man of action, but if he doesn't want to die, I strongly recommend he stay put."

I almost crumpled to the floor in relief. They were gonna live. For now at least.

As soon as the doc was gone Rick turned to the others. I lingered in the corner waiting to hear what he was gonna say. It was Abraham who broke the oppressive silence first.

"She's really not comin' back with us, is she?"

Rick shook his head, unable to look the big man in the eye. Wait. What's he mean Maggie's not coming back with them? That doesn't sound good at all.

"Maggie's a grown woman Abe," he whispered. "Besides, she has every right to be angry with me. I let her husband die-"

No! I flashed to his side and grabbed his shoulders. Watched helplessly as my hands passed through without making purchase on his clothes. Don't you dare blame yourself for this, Rick. We didn't know. None of us realized what we signed up for.

"Now you stop _right there_ brother or so help me God I'm gonna finish what Maggie started!" Abe exclaimed, blue eyes blazing with unbowed determination. "Glenn wouldn't want ya to blame yerself. We all agreed to go to that outpost. Not just you. So don't go walkin' around thinking yer the only one ta blame for all of this!"

Yeah. Exactly.

But I could see something take shape in Rick's eyes. Something hard and determined and... _reckless._

"We'll go back as soon as it gets light. Warn our people what's comin'. We'll play along with Negan's game for now. But he's gonna pay for what he's done."

Carl raised his shaggy head. A predatory gleam lit his single eye and I saw a tiny satisfied smile play across his lips. Approving his dad's declaration.

"We're gonna kill him."

Rick glanced over at his son. In that moment-to him anyway, I saw this a long time ago-his son ceased to be a little boy who needed to be protected from the monsters. He was a man. And his father's next words affirmed this.

"Yeah. I promised I would didn't I?"

Carl folded his arms and stared at the door where Maggie and Daryl lay behind, heavily sedated and sleeping. "Good. Glenn was my friend."

Sasha lifted her head from its place on Abe's chest. "So was I."

"Me too." Rosita chimed in face wet but determined.

"Glenn was the best of us," Eugene declared. "It was an honor to be his friend. I intend to pay my respects before we leave."

I slowly backed away, not liking where this conversation was headed. Images of the Saviors' compound flashed through my mind. Everyone was my friend.

 _Just like they had all been Negan-_

I rushed to where my wife lay sleeping peacefully in her borrowed bed. Spent the next few moments watching her chest rise and fall, spotting dried tear tracks on her face. I reached out to wipe them away but once again, my new form wouldn't allow it. She wasn't going back to the Safe Zone. And if what Eugene said was true, Maggie had already buried my body somewhere on the grounds.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Great. Rick's probably gonna do something stupid. Like fight back.

I don't like the fact he's planning to sign a war with Negan and the Saviors in my name. This never ends well. Don't ask me how I know. I just have a really, really bad feeling about all of this.

...

I made my way out across the darkened grounds outside the manor after checking in on Daryl. In the predawn hours, with water dripping off the trees and dew on the grass it was easy to forget that the apocalypse had hit and the dead walked the earth.

Instinct drew me to the rear of the old manor where a grove of mature trees stood. Underneath one of them was a gravestone standing an eternal vigil over a freshly dug grave.

The epitaph was simple enough:

GLENN RHEE  
d.2016  
BELOVED HUSBAND, FATHER, FRIEND, MENTOR  
ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS  
NEVER FORGET

How sad is that? I never told them the year I was born. Guess I figured I'd have the time.

...

I know I should go back.

The others are probably worried sick by now. I don't blame them...but I feel I can't leave yet. Maybe it's me being stubborn and unable to let go. Accept the fact that I'm dead and move on. The last thing I wanted was cause my family untold sorrow and suffering.

But it's hard. Watching my brutal death affect Rick and everyone in different ways. Most of them aren't good.

Carl's become harder. Any trace of boyishness is gone. He's turned into a ruthless killer. Just like Negan said he would-

Ugh. I hate saying that name. I wish Jesus never mentioned it. Then I'd probably be alive right now, getting ready to become a father-

Nope. Don't go there Glenn. There's no room for bitterness in the afterlife.

Mags. My sassy, farm girl's become a tempered steel weapon. A fierce warrior. I saw her string Gregory up as an example to anyone who dared think of crossing her. Heh. Looks like she ripped a page right out of Rick's playbook. Dunno whether that's a good or a bad thing, but her hatred for Negan seems to have given her a scary kind of inner strength. Revenge can be a powerful tool but its an acid. It corrodes your humanity and before ya know it you've turned into a monster.

I found myself splitting my time between the two Safe Zones, lingering at Alexandria and Hilltop longer than I should have. Mostly because I want to see my child born healthy and keep close to Maggie. She's stronger now, but that's because she has to be. I'm no longer there to love and protect her and the baby.

And being a single parent in the apocalypse isn't the most ideal, but she'll have no shortage of helpers. My child will be raised by the community. Just like little Judith.

I hope my child never has to deal with the geeks or bad people, but that's wishful thinking on my part. No one escapes this cold, cruel world unscathed for long but maybe living behind the walls can delay that.

But with Rick uniting the other communities for war against Sanctuary I sped away into the wilderness, passing through geeks and humans alike unnoticed and unharmed. No matter what I try to do, he won't listen to reason.

That's when it finally dawned on me one warm afternoon while I stood on the branch of a large tree watching a herd of walkers meander through on their never-ending search for live food.

I was the glue that held everything together. The heart of the group. The unofficial leader everyone turned to when Rick fell apart. I was hope incarnate. That there could be a future, something to live for, that we weren't doomed as a species. That in the darkest of nights flames of hope burned bright.

And Negan snuffed mine out. I was just the latest casualty in a war against what makes us human in the first place. My death-along with Dale and Herschel and Tyreese's-drove a stark point home:

Those who cling to their humanity, to hope, who refuse to kill fellow human beings are cut down and thrown out. Because those who remain don't want a reminder of the way things used to be-

A rustling in the woods snapped me out of my trance-like state. I whipped my head around only to come face to face with Shane, T-Dog and Tyreese emerging from the thick brush.

I gave them a wan smile.

"C'mon man," T-Dog said placing his hands on his hips. "Girls are worried sick."

Shane snorted good-naturedly.

"Naw brotha, that lil' spitfire Beth sent us to bring 'im back."

I chuckled. How very Greene of her. They're made of tough stock, so I got nothing to worry about.

Tyreese cocked his head at my quiet laughter.

"Somethin' funny Glenn?"

I hopped down from my branch, landing effortlessly without pain. Shaking my head no as I crossed the gap to where the three men stood waiting for me with open arms.

Guess it's time for me to go.

As we walked into the strong Virginian sunlight and beyond the mortal veil, I allowed myself several fleeting moments to think of my surviving family members faces. Lovingly tucking them into the deepest recesses of my heart and mind so I could take them out and reminisce at my leisure. Oh I'll probably drop by every once in a while to check on them, but it won't be often. I'm no longer chained to this world, but a new one. Free of pain, tears, walkers, and death.

And besides I'm not alone. My family's there, so don't cry for me.

I'll be alright.

 **-end**


End file.
